A Quiet Game
by GooseLady31
Summary: Yuffie is married to a scientist working under her father. She is happy and has grown up. What's going to happen when she becomes part of an experiment? Rated: M for sexual behavior Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.
1. Chapter 1

Yuffie Kisaragi let the ring on her left hand catch her eyes again and got lost in the beauty of the diamond. She never held tightly to the idea of getting married when she was younger. Yes, she thought the idea of committing yourself to one person was sweet and adorable. But no, she never thought it was a place for her to be. She didn't want to be tied down to one person because she wanted to have fun with her life and not worry about upsetting another being. Her father had small fits when she had her wild spells, but he taught her how to grow over them. Rio Azima appeared shortly after she was trying to please her father.

Rio was the lead scientist working under her father. He did his best to find as many solutions to saving the Wutai village as much money as possible. Some of the tricks he pulled were amazing and most made Yuffie stunned to think no one else was able to think them up.

Godo Kisaragi turned Wutai into more of a home village than a tourist attraction as the years passed on. Tourists still visited, but they jumped more to their fancy areas and left the population's homes alone more often. It allowed the people time to relax and not have to deal with strangers all the time. It was a slow change, but a welcomed change nonetheless.

"Yuffie, are you awake?" Rio called at the front door.

Yuffie turned to face him with a smirk. "You can see I am awake. What are the plans for today?"

"Nothing is really set in stone. The lab is scheduled to do some testing with a new method of healing we developed. If our experiments prove correct, this discovery could bring in a lot of money," Rio said and walked over to his wife. He ran his fingers through her hair as she zoned out like she tended to do some days. Her hyper attitude calmed down even more once they got married, and it pulled him to her quickly. She was quite adorable when she wasn't acting like a three year old filled up on sugar. "It's a new potion with the ability to heal internal wounds. Anything from poor organs to a broken bone. There were a lot of twists and turns with the experiments. But after one more test we think we can prove this medicine to be top quality."

"That sounds amazing," she said and gave a small chuckle. "I know a few people who could probably use some medicine just like that."

Rio fought off the urge to roll his eyes and only kissed her forehead and turned to leave their room. He wished her a good morning and left for his typical morning disappearance. Yuffie knew how much he hated her bringing up the events from her past, but they were strong pieces of her history. Without them, she wouldn't be the woman she was today.

Yuffie stood from the bed and looked into the full length mirror on the wall. Her hair now danced a few inches past her shoulders and she usually was seen in fitted jeans with a plain t-shirt. Her knee high boots completed the look even if they were worn out with age. She knew she grew well to the age of twenty-seven, but she hated having attention on her looks. There was more to her than the ability to fill out a pair of jeans.

Yuffie smirked as she thought about Tifa and her appearance. The woman always had men hitting on her. Well, that was before Cloud grew a pair and finally asked her hand in marriage. It took him a long time, but finally he got over his internal issues and bought the lady a nice ring. She wondered how they were doing and felt sad she hadn't spoken to them face to face since they helped Vincent out with the Deepground battles. She sent Tifa emails often and Tifa always responded, but it wasn't the same as a face to face conversation.

It was heart breaking Rio only wanted to hold a small ceremony for their wedding because she would have loved to invite her friends to see her new happy moment. She wouldn't lie to herself, she knew Rio did the small wedding intentionally because she was obsessed with her old friends. It got on his nerves every time she brought them up and he could only sit there and listen. As time passed, she stopped mentioning them and pretended to enjoy getting lost in his science talks. She was a master at pretending with Rio.

Yuffie froze on the steps as her thoughts crashed. How much of her life was only a false act anymore? She rolled her eyes and continued down the stairway. Growing up meant changing it seemed.

"Good morning, Yuffie," Godo said from his lounge chair in the living room. He may have improved his ability to lead the area, but his weight appeared to always take a hard hit after each success.

"Good morning, Godo," she said. She was unable to vocalize any term to label him as her father and he was perfectly set with the idea. They had an awkward relationship. "What are you doing today?"

"I'm going to meet with Rio to discuss the new experiment he is wanting to test out and I was hoping you would sit with me during the conversation," he said and held his hand open to the small chair next to him.

"What for?" she asked without taking a step towards him.

"I figured it would be good for the future leader of Wutai to see how important discussions are held to settle matters for the village and the future," he said and tapped the arm of the little chair. "Now take a seat and wait for him to step in."

As if he were waiting for the cue, Rio stepped into the room and bowed down to Godo. Yuffie took a deep breath and sat in her reserved seat. She sat in on plenty of discussions with her father and other people. There was no reason for her to sit in on the talk about Rio's experiments. She didn't understand half the things he talked about anyway!

"Mr. Rio Azima, please come in and tell me what you request from us this hour," Godo said and motioned his hand to the couch across the small table.

"I was hoping we could discuss the matter of a new healing potion my group of scientists have discovered."

"Continue."

Yuffie could not keep her mind focused on the matter before her. She knew by the mention of incredible potions she used to use every day the matter was a high hitting success. If there were any ways to completely heal internal injuries back when they fought Sephiroth their lives would have been much better. Of course, then the big buffoon would also have had the opportunity to be stronger. Okay, it wouldn't have changed much against semi intelligent enemies, but it was a step in the right direction.

"As long as you can swear it is not harmful, I don't see a reason not to take advantage of an experiment," Godo said and smiled to his daughter. What had she missed?

"That's good sir," Rio said and joined Godo in smiling her way. "I gave her a bit of..."

His words faded away as the room grew dark and her body sunk in the chair. Once again her spacing out caused her to miss what was going on. Was she part of the new experiment they would be trying?

xXxXxXxXx

Vincent leaned back in his bedroom and let out a slow breath. His life was good and he was happy with the changes he made. He moved into a comfortable apartment Tifa found for him only two blocks away from 7th Heaven. The neighbors were pleasant to talk to and he had the ability to visit his friends whenever he deemed fit.

Vincent smirked at the thought of him managing to find friends. It felt as if it was another lifetime when he believed he would be set to spend the rest of his life alone locked in a coffin. Being immortal would make the time boring, but when he couldn't take it any longer he would take advantage of the gun he always carried with him. Then along came the group determined to take down the all powerful Sephiroth. They seemed like an alright group so he joined them with only a little hesitation.

He looked up into the night sky and pulled his comforter around him. He saw Cloud and Tifa almost every day and Barret poked his head in every now and again. It would take a lot to vocalize his thoughts, but he wondered how everyone else was doing. Was Red XIII having a good time with his grandchildren? What in the world was Caith Sith up to these days? Did Cid still cuss up a storm when he got a little upset or flustered? Was Yuffie still trying to steal materia or did she grow up in these years?

Vincent fell asleep thinking about his past with those people. He would never utter the words out loud, but he missed them all and really enjoyed the time he spent with them.


	2. Chapter 2

Vincent walked into 7th Heaven only three days later and was greeted with a large smile from Tifa Strife. It was amazing how she appeared to glow when she saw any of her friends and how warm she was becoming. Her positive attitude fit her well with the small bump growing in her belly. Yes, she was pregnant and happily married to Cloud. All of her dreams came true. Lucky lady.

"Hey there old man," she joked and took out a glass of water for Vincent. "Want something for lunch?"

"No, I'm fine," he said and took a seat in front of the glass of water.

"That's code for 'I'm starving' in Valentine language," Tifa said and turned to face the fridge. "Let me heat you up some vegetable soup."

"If it will make you happy," Vincent said and gave a small smile.

"Hey there," Cloud said and walked behind the counter to give Tifa a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "What brings you in today?"

Vincent shrugged and scratched his chin awkwardly. He spent too much time thinking about his old friends the past few days and the curiosity was beating him up more than he cared to admit. It wouldn't be much of a problem to contact everyone, but he didn't see the need when he knew a walking telephone was standing right in front of him.

"Ah, I was thinking about everyone the other night. My curiosity got the better of me and I was wondering what you've heard from everyone," Vincent said. He caught their faces as looks of surprise passed through their eyes. A smile appeared on Tifa's face and she leaned on the bar to share what she last heard from everyone.

"Let's see," she said the tried to find a good place to start. "Cait Sith has been working at a new amusement park watching over lost children. Not sure what sent him there, but he seems to enjoy it. Cid is just the same as ever and still flies around in the sky keeping an eye on things. Yuffie, she talks to me through emails and says things are still stepping up in Wutai. It seems as if Godo is trying to train her to step up and lead."

"Really?" Vincent asked and gave off a smile. He could not see the jumpy sixteen girl lead anything other than a hunt for materia. It had been way too long since any of them had seen her. She was already twenty-seven and he couldn't even create an image of her grown up in his head.

"Yeah, the little girl we used to know has grown up. Ever since she first mentioned her marriage something began changing in her. We should really go and see her. It's been..." Tifa started counting the year on her finger.

"A little under ten years," Vincent said taking the first sip of soup.

"Right." Tifa gave a soft smile and looked over at Cloud as his cell phone sounded. "I'm surprised she didn't try and sneak away with one of us once we settled the matter with Deepground. I fully expected her to jump on you right away."

Vincent chocked on the spoon in his mouth. "What are you talking about?"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kisaragi," Cloud said in response to answering the phone.

Vincent and Tifa both ended their conversation and looked towards Cloud. He raised his shoulders as Godo spoke on the other end.

"What is he doing? That doesn't sound like a bad thing." There was a short pause before Cloud exploded. "What did you do?" Cloud hardly ever spoke harshly unless it was a serious matter. Any matter involving Yuffie and being serious was nonexistent. There was nothing good about the call. "I'll be over in a couple days. If anything happened to her!" Cloud ended the call and fought the urge to chuck his phone across the room.

"What happened?" Tifa asked. Vincent couldn't even guess what sort of mess the Kisaragi family signed themselves into.

"Yuffie's husband created a new method for curing internal injuries and Yuffie is now serving as his experiment!" Cloud grabbed his jacket and pulled it on quickly.

"What?" Vincent said in a growl and glared harshly. He didn't know the entire story, but hearing his friend serving as an experiment rose his anger to an entirely new level. "What kind of experiment?"

"It's a new potion that can heal old wounds deep inside. Apparently, Godo willingly handed over his daughter since she has wounds from our past battles and why not test out a young subject? Now Rio has her locked away in his lab and won't let anyone in to see her since she is serving as an experiment," Cloud moved to the stairs to grab his sword. He hoped it wouldn't reach that level, but he didn't know what kind of crazy he was about to go face. "I'm going to go and try to save her."

"No, I'll go," Vincent said and tapped the gun he carried on his hip. "I'm ready and I need to see what they are doing to her. If it's anything like what I went through, it's a problem only I will know how to get her out of."

"If you really want to," Cloud said and rubbed his neck. He had no idea how he felt about Vincent walking into a science lab doing tests on humans. Vincent was a hell of a lot more stable than he used to be, but things could change in a snap. "Call us if you need any help."

"Stay here with your wife. I need to know what the hell this moron is doing to our ninja," Vincent said and left the building in a flash.

"I think you mean your ninja Mr. Valentine," Tifa said with a small smile. She was worried about what would happen, but she knew Vincent would use his head for the most part.

xXxXxXxXx

The man before him was an idiot. It took very little common sense to know not to offer your daughter up for some man's experiments. He listen to the worry in the old man's voice and he could almost pick up the fake tone buried beneath his words. Godo wasn't too worried about his daughter, but he was worried about what Rio would do to him. Yuffie was no longer a priority in Godo's life and Vincent knew just how to solve that problem.

"Mr. Kisaragi, I'll save Yuffie with no problem. But you must know one thing," Vincent said and stood slowly. "When she is rescued, I am taking her away to any place she chooses and she will most likely be done with you."

"Only if she wants," Godo said with a glare.

"If she wishes to remain here I'll learn to live with it. But I wouldn't hold on to those words," Vincent said. "Show me where you think she is.

xXxXxXxXx

Vincent wanted to beat the idiot in the head with his gun when he was taken to the door holding Yuffie locked away. The door held a simple twist knob and a lock any person with minor training could pick open. He looked at the guards appearing as if they couldn't think of any solution. Oh, they had no idea.

"Could you gentlemen please take about three steps back?" Vincent asked. As soon as they did as they were asked Vincent fired a bullet at the lock on the door.

"What if you shot my daughter?!" Godo shouted and looked horrified.

"Rio wouldn't placed Yuffie directly in front of the door," Vincent said. "She is his prized experiment and it would be too high of a risk."

Vincent and Godo rushed in and were greeted by shocked faces of the many doctors in the room and at the lead seat sat Rio. He wore a smirk and shook his head.

"I can't believe you didn't bust down the door sooner," he said and left the table where he was working. As he approached a tall object hidden under a large blanket Vincent's breath caught in his throat. It couldn't be. Rio ripped down the blanket and revealed Yuffie floating in a red liquid. It wasn't the same material Vincent spent time soaking in, but it was similar. Yuffie was completely naked and a breathing mask was secured to her face. "Bring back memories?" Vincent watched as Rio held up notes in a folder with Hojo's name written on the tab. There was no way the man had access to those notes.

"Let my daughter go!" Godo yelled and before anyone could think to stop the man he slammed a metal chair into the glass container holding Yuffie. Vincent gave him points for approaching her case unknowingly, but they never thought he would be stupid.

"Yuffie!" Vincent yelled and left the idea of attacking Rio. As soon as Yuffie touched the ground Vincent pulled her into his arms. Rio rushed out a back door, but they were more concerned with Yuffie's safety. "Godo, we need good doctors. And we need them now!"

"Follow me. They're just down the hall."

Vincent carried Yuffie and watched in horror as the drugs continued their work with 'healing' her. He could only imagine the internal wounds the young woman carried from her helping Cloud and him with their battles many years ago. The drugs created from Rio appeared to be at work taking away all of her bad areas. These areas included the skin from her side and the blood covering his arm told him her leg also held some internal injuries. The doctors there were about to have a lot of work to do to save her life if she wasn't already gone.

The doctors ripped Yuffie out of Vincent's arms and placed her on a hospital bed. He stepped away as the sheets slowly turned red and he couldn't remove his eyes from her face. She was in a comatose state, but there was obvious pain on her face. If only Godo had used his head and waited for orders from Vincent. Now they could only pray time was on their side.


	3. Chapter 3

Yuffie's eyes popped open when she made a wrong turn in her sleep and pain filled her left side. She hissed and grabbed her stomach as she moved to sit up. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw she was in the patient room of her father's home. She raised the hospital gown to look at what was causing her so much pain. On her left side she had a piece of metal serving as skin covering her side. A matching piece of the silver metal was attached to the outer side of her right leg. The new attachment ran from just a few inches below her hip and stopped just above her knee.

"What the hell happened?" she grumbled at her twisted body.

"You were your ex-husband's experiment." Yuffie froze at the voice that called out to her. She slowly raised her head to see Vincent Valentine sitting in front of her with his eyes closed. She yelped and dropped her hospital gown.

"V...Vincent?" Yuffie asked in a whisper.

"That would be me," he said and peeked one eye open to see she was hidden away again. It didn't matter since he had already seen her naked and even touched her bare body. But she was unaware of it all and he didn't need to make anything more awkward than needed for them.

"Vincent," she whispered again and looked down at the ring she still wore on her finger.

"We've already covered my name, Yuffie," he said and leaned forward. "Your maid brought down some clothes for you to change into whenever you're ready to go."

"Go where?" she asked only raising her voice to a casual level. He would never admit it out loud, but he was not happy with her quiet attitude.

"Wherever you want. Of course, you could stay here if you chose. Your father gave me permission to take you where you wanted to go," he said and stood. "I'll leave you alone to think and let you change."

Before he could step away Yuffie nearly jumped off the bed as she grabbed his left arm covered in metal. She looked up at him with pleading eyes and she pulled him to sit next to her on the bed.

"What happened?" she asked and looked into his deep red eyes. Oh how she missed those tortured balls of fire. "The last thing I remember was getting a kiss from him in the morning and then it all sort of fades away."

"Yuffie, somehow Rio managed to find the experiment notes written up by Hojo. Rio did some mortifications to create an ultimate potion to heal old injuries and your father allowed you to serve as a test for his new potion. As we speak, Cloud and everyone else are out trying to find Rio to turn him in to the Wutai police. The last bit I heard from Tifa was on a good note. You have been in a coma for four days now and they just located a woman who saw him only a day ago," Vincent said and surprised them both by taking her hand. "Why don't you go look in the mirror?"

Yuffie did as he said and she was amazed by the eyes looking back at her. Her dark brown eyes now carried dashes of gold. She looked over at Vincent and met his eyes glowing red. What had she become?

"Yuffie, I promise I'm going to help you as much as I can with this. And until he is found, I am going to stay with you and serve as your guard. Since all the men working here are complete assholes, I'm taking their place."

Yuffie let out a small chuckle and Vincent seemed to relax at the sound. She gave his shoulder a pat and motioned for him to leave so she could get changed. A groan shortly followed his leave when she opened the closet to see the clothes Miss Nattie brought for her to change into. On the hanger was a green dress fit for a princess. Yuffie stomped her feet and changed as quickly as she could without looking in the mirror.

"Don't you dare laugh at me," she said as she stepped through the door. She didn't look up to see Vincent's face and he didn't move a muscle.

When had Yuffie grown up? She grew to be a beautiful lady and the dress hit all of her perfectly. The tight top made her chest appear as if it were waiting to be grabbed and the black bow positioned to the side gave her a playful feel. Her flat shoes were black and also held bows on the side. Vincent had to get his eyes off her before he did something they would both regret.

He turned away from her and she shot him a glare. "Now where do we go?"

"Wherever you want. You can stay here or we can go somewhere else. I don't care," Vincent said. He looked down at her and she was fiddling with the bow on her dress. "What are you thinking about?"

"Can we go to your place?" Yuffie asked. Before he could give her a funny look she quickly explained her reasons. "I was so excited when Tifa told me you moved down the road from her bar. I have been curious to see what you call home. While we're there we can even go visit her. I know Cloud won't let her join him in battles if there is a baby on the way. At least, I hope he wouldn't. I would crush him if he did."

"And just like that Yuffie is coming back," Godo called from behind them.

"Excuse me?" Yuffie asked and gave her father a confused look. "I've always been here."

"Physically, yes. But mentally you've been holding back. I don't know why I wanted you to change, but you're not the same if you can't act this way. It took a bit too much for me to realize this. I wish you two the best," Godo said and gave a soft smile.

Yuffie ignored the hint of her and Vincent being put together in her father's statement and walked over to give the man a hug. "I'm sorry I wasn't quite the princess you dreamt I would be."

"It's alright," he said and returned the hug. "I think I like the ninja better anyway. Not going to be able to do much in that dress though."

"That may be so, but it works for now," she said with a smile. She kissed her father's cheek and then headed towards Vincent. "Can we stop for some food before we head to your place?"

"We'll grab something and then head out, deal?" he asked.

"Deal," she said. She saw Vincent's black sports car and smirked. He caught her look and raised his eyebrows with curiosity. "I never saw you as the flashy type Mr. Valentine."

"I never saw you as the dress type Mrs. Kisaragi," he said. She smirked and bobbed her head to agree.


	4. Chapter 4

Yuffie walked into Vincent's apartment when he unlocked the door. It wasn't a small place to call home at all and would be a comfy place for about three people to live. The rooms weren't dressed in dark shades as she pictured and was shocked to see the kitchen dressed in a warm brown and light blue. It was anything but the image she pictured for Vincent's home. The living room held a dark brown recliner and a gray love seat. Not a very color coordinated set up, but it worked for him. The center table was black and matched the case holding his small television. Yuffie was stunned with the small size of the restroom and could only imagine the trouble he faced when getting ready in the mornings. There were two guest bedrooms, but they appeared to have only sheets tossed on them to look somewhat appealing. It was obvious he didn't have many visitors stay the night. But it did warm her heart to see he kept the idea of having people over slightly in his mind.

The last place Yuffie ventured to was his bedroom. This was the room where his need for black exploded. The black sheets matched his comforter spot on. His curtains were checkered black and gray with silver hooks holding them in place. If someone ever wanted to sulk all they needed to do was find Vincent's bedroom. She rolled her eyes and left the dungeon alone.

"I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend with all this stepping up going on," Yuffie teased and sat down on the love seat.

"Who says I don't have one?" he said and sat in the recliner.

"Please, no girl would let you stay days with another girl just because we were once friends," she said and smiled. He knew better than to think girls were that simple.

"Once friends? Are we no longer friends then?" he asked and leaned back in his chair without looking away from her face. There was something he was digging for and it made her curious. She would play along for now.

"We are no longer the same as we used to be. You still dress in the all black getup, but you lost your red cape. You don't wear the red wrap around your head, but you still have eyes like lava. Smiles creep onto your face more often and you talk a lot more," Yuffie looked up to the ceiling and drummed her fingers on her leg. "I don't know if we know one another like we used to."

"Oh I see. It's a bit like how you don't go on endless rants jumping from topic to topic but you still make those smart comments on occasion? How you don't feel entirely uncomfortable wearing a dress but you like the attention you get by throwing a fit about it? How you still smile at me but don't have the strength behind the look as you once did?" Vincent continued to look at her as her face turned a touch of pink. "And I'll deny I ever said this, but the use of the annoying nickname has vanished and I miss it a little."

Yuffie took her eyes off the ceiling and looked over at Vincent. She gave him a childish smile and fiddled with the bottom of her skirt. "It's been a long time since I've seen you. Pulling the nickname out again would almost be embarrassing."

"Ah, I'm sure there are more embarrassing things to experience," he said and scratched his nose. It was time to get out before they got too wrapped up in their conversations. "Let's go see Tifa and see what we can learn about Cloud finding Rio."

xXxXxXxXx

Tifa rushed Yuffie with a huge hug as if she hadn't seen her in years. Even though it was true, it was still a bit much. She made Yuffie take a seat and poured her some of the bar's best tea. Smiles were on both girls' faces and Vincent felt good seeing them happy.

"Have you heard anything from Cloud?" Yuffie asked.

"Nothing more than them being right on his tale. Word has been sent to some of Cid's friends in the air and they are keeping eyes out as well. It's only a matter of time at this point," Tifa took a seat on her bar stole behind the counter and smiled at her old friend. "Were you surprised when you saw Vincent was the one to save you?"

Yuffie blushed slightly. "I was more embarrassed. When I first woke up I was hurting and basically took off my hospital gown. I'm not certain how much of a peep show Vincent got with that one."

Vincent smiled at her and shook his head. "When you started moving the gown I closed my eyes and waited until you finished your investigation. But the doctors did a good job clearing out the bugs and patching up the holes."

"You still saw more than you should have," Yuffie said and stuck her tongue out.

"Probably," he agreed and she didn't know what to say in response.

"Vincent, you said Yuffie was in a pink gel while in the tube. Do you know what the gel was?" Tifa asked and worry filled her face.

"I can't tell you with a hundred percent answer. If you look at our eyes you can see we have the same shine in the color. The only difference is mine turned red during the experiment and Yuffie's remained the same. I also needed to have my arm replaced when the Mako was injected. Almost like Yuffie's new metal parts. I think the Mako was a bit more calm in her and really only intended to eat away the internal damage. But when Godo crashed her out of the gel the air started slowly tearing at her skin and the chemicals went crazy," Vincent smiled at Yuffie and Tifa. "I did a lot of talking with the doctors while she was out of it."

"I see," Yuffie said and nibbled on her bottom lip slightly. Vincent caught the motion and his body did an internal kick. She would kill him before he would ever think straight around her again.

"Does this mean she is like you now?" Tifa asked.

The idea was deep in Vincent's mind. If she was like him he would have at least a friend to spend his time with. There was no clue or sign to show how long he would live and the same could be said about Yuffie. It had to be more complicated than that. Nothing ever worked out for him like this.

"All of this is killing my head. Vincent, can I crash at your place tonight?" she asked suddenly and gave him a simple smile. The smile was simple to the point of making him worry. She was a complicated girl and there had to be more in her head than just going to bed.

"Sure," he said and gave in to her wishes. What was the worst that could happen? She probably was beat and wanted some time alone. What better place to seek being alone than the place he called home?

xXxXxXxXx

"Good night, Yuffie," Vincent said as he walked away from the bedroom he straightened up for her. They had gotten lost in the movie and some snacks on the couch before they called it time for bed.

"Good night," she whispered and sat back in the bed. She let her mind wonder and all she could think about were the times they were thrown into battle and Vincent lost control of Chaos. It was always so scary to her, but he always seemed to win over the beast in the end. Would she be able to win over the beast that was possibly inside her? Did she even need to worry about the creature coming out since the battles were unlikely to happen ever again? Times were happier now and they didn't need to worry about fighting enemies.

If she did have a Chaos of her own, would Vincent be willing to be with her as support and live the rest of their lives together? She wasn't looking for anything serious, but a friend would be fine for now. If something grew she would take it, but it was still too odd to think about.

Yuffie drifted to sleep and was thrown back to the battles she fought alongside Chaos. The happiest part was reliving the truth how the beast never attacked Vincent's friends. The most terrifying part was not knowing if she carried the strength to fight her demon away like Vincent always did.


	5. Chapter 5

Vincent jumped out of his bed as his bedroom door busted open. Yuffie appeared in the doorway and basically flashed into his arms. He heard her cough through tears and felt the warm drops on his skin. Since she was upset he could only hold her and wait until she calmed down to ask any questions. He did have some suspicions about the cause of her tears, but he would let her work it out.

"Are you okay?" he asked when her body's shaking calmed.

"I'm scared," she said without looking up.

"I'm right here." Vincent dragged his fingers through her long hair then rubbed her shoulders. "Let's sit down and talk about it."

Yuffie chewed her bottom lip as they sat quietly for a moment. He wondered when she picked up the cute little habit. She glanced his way and stared into his glowing eyes just as he stared into hers. She raised her hand and rubbed her thumb along his cheek.

"How hard was it to get used to what you carried?" she asked. As her hand moved down his face she followed it's motion with her eyes. It stopped on his bare shoulder and she could only think he felt like a rock.

"It took a long time. The hardest part was doing it all on my own and trying to lock myself away. It was to keep my world safe, but it would have been easier had I known there was another person to turn to," he said with a smile. "Yuffie, I'll be right next to you as long as you need me to be there."

"Do you promise?" she asked and her lip quivered giving off the truth behind her fear.

"I promise," he said with a smile.

That was all she needed to hear before she jumped forward and put her lips to his own. At first he was frozen and let her have her way with him. Soon he leaned back and let her lay on top of him. He wondered where her passion was growing from and he hoped with all hope she was kissing him and not just the idea of him. If he was any man at all he would stop her before she ruined herself and broke his heart.

"Yuffie, what are you doing?" he asked as she moved to kiss his neck.

"Please, don't tell me to stop," she said and reached her hand between them.

Vincent hissed and took her shoulders so he could safely flip her under him. Her eyes were shining with passion equal to the glow in his own. There was no doubt she wanted him, but why?

"Yuffie, there is no reason to do this," he said and looked away from her face. "You don't want me. I am not for you."

Yuffie blinked in response to his words and a signal tear escaped. "When we first met it was by pure dumb luck. If our friends didn't find your coffin and if I didn't steal the materia, where would we be right now? We would most likely be miserable. I have seen your smile and have felt your love every minute since I woke up. If I am imagining things, please tell me so I can leave this with as much pride as possible. But if you feel just half of what I'm feeling right now, let me have this."

"I am sorry Yuffie," Vincent said and spoke quickly as her face began to frown. "I am sorry it took such drastic measures for you to fall for me. I don't know when your beauty first hit me, but it was many years ago when I knew you were something I could only dream of touching. To be honest, I am glad you got the same internal problems I am carrying because it will make living with this so much easier if I could have you by my side. Yuffie, I don't know how you feel about me, but I can't hold it back any longer. I love you Yuffie Kisaragi."

"I love you too Vinnie! Ever since I first met eyes with you I have been hooked to everything about you. Please, don't you dare push me away!" she said and pulled him down to meet their lips. As the kiss deepened they stepped into the true feelings they shared with one another.

xXxXxXxXx

Yuffie woke to see a pair of red eyes already alert and waiting for her wake. She had no idea if he was truly has happy as his smile revealed, but she hoped with all hope he wasn't lying to her. She reached up to play with his hair and he closed his eyes. A small laughed left his mouth and she grew curious to his laughter so early in the morning.

"What now?" she asked.

"You better not wear a tank top today," he said and gave Yuffie's shoulder a tender kiss. She jerked at the motion and saw a small hickey on her shoulder.

"It's like you were trying to suck out my blood with your lips!" Yuffie said and playfully hit him.

"You weren't complaining last night," he said with a wink. She hit him again and he couldn't help but feel as if he couldn't feel any better. When his phone went off on the bedside table he reached over to see Tifa's name on the screen. "Hello?"

"Cloud just dropped Rio off to the Wutai police!" Tifa said loud enough for Yuffie to hear.

"Ah, no extra pain permitted?" Vincent said with a joking sigh.

"I didn't say he was given over with complete health," she responded giving a small laugh. Vincent gave a strong laugh and Yuffie's mouth dropped. None of them ever heard him laugh so deeply.

"Vincent, you sound as if you..." Tifa trailed off and chuckled. "Is Yuffie nearby?"

"She's in the room," Vincent said with no other details. He refused to say much more than that.

"I can put two and two together. Relax and have some fun! You two better come over for some lunch later," Tifa said and the call was ended.

"It's only a matter of time before she tells everyone," Yuffie said.

Vincent set his phone down and got into position to straddle her and peer down at her face. "Then I can take all the time I need."

"Oh?" Yuffie put her finger on her chin as if she didn't understand. "What do you need time for, Vinnie?"

He bent down to whisper in her ear as he ran his cool claw along her arm. "I need plenty of time to convince you as well as myself that my heart is in the right place."

"Where is your heart?" she asked and kissed the side of his cheek.

"At the moment, it is skipping around the idea of a pretty ring, but I'm not certain if a little ninja would welcome a demon into her life," he said and before he had time to say another word she flipped him around so she was sitting on his stomach. She pushed her body against his as she delivered a heavy kiss. "Okay, it's heading down the right path I think. Any way to reassure my thoughts."

"Are you playing with me?" she asked with a fake pout.

"There will be no pouting if I'm playing with you," he said and rubbed his hip against hers. In a flash they were at it again. Vincent did anything thing but play the game quietly.


End file.
